Soon after Nitish Kumar took oath as Bihar Chief Minister for the ninth time with BJP as partner, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the new Bihar team and the Chief Minister.
Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Sinha, of the BJP, are Nitish Kumar's new deputies.
“The NDA government formed in Bihar will leave no stone unturned for the development of the state and to fulfill the aspirations of its people. Congratulate @NitishKumar ji on becoming Chief Minister and Samrat Chaudhary ji and Vijay Sinha ji on taking oath as Deputy Chief Ministers,” Mr Modi posted at X in Hindi.
I think I did a good job. I think I did a good job. I think I did a good job @NitishKumar I think I did well I think I did well बहुत-बहुत बधाई।
I think I like it…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 28, 2024
“I am confident that this team will serve my family members of the state with full dedication. @samrat4bjp @VijayKrSinhaBih,” the Prime Minister added.
However, the new reshuffle in Bihar and Nitish Kumar's fifth political upheaval in a decade has earned him the nickname “paltumaar or “paltu Kumar”. 'Paltumar' means one who keeps changing his position.
“I have been saying this since the beginning that Nitish Kumar can trade at any time. This has become part of his politics. But today's developments have shown that all parties and leaders in Bihar are 'paltumarian',” said poll strategist Prashant Kishor. sparing the BJP and also labeling them as “paltumarians”.
The BJP, the pollster said, had declared that its doors are closed to Kumar. “The BJP leaders who verbally abused Nitish Kumar yesterday will now hail him as a symbol of good governance. RJD, which called him a leader for the future, will witness corruption in Bihar today,” he said.
Tejashwi Yadav, who was Bihar's deputy chief minister till a few hours ago, called his ex-boss and ally, Nitish Kumar, a 'tired prime minister' as the latter pulled a major tab and joined hands with the BJP once again.
“It seems we have done tired CM (prime minister) work. The game is not over yet,” Tejashwi Yadav, son of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Yadav, told reporters.
Explaining his big move, Nitish Kumar, 72, told reporters in Patna, “The new Grand Alliance that we have formed (in August 2022) is not in a good condition. The situation does not look good.”
Mr Kumar also criticized the opposition bloc INDIA, which was set up by him.